Blog 12: Holiday Project Update

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

Over break, I had a few opportunities to put some hours into Independent Component, I was able to bake for some family Christmas parties. I was also able to complete another 6 hours with my mentor, bringing my total to 15 hours. In this 6 hours, I assisted my mentor during the New Year's’ Eve party with setup, some kitchen duty as well as helping serve guests.

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

I got to experience first hand the timing of hosting a dinner party, it helped enforce the idea and execution of timing when distributing dishes.

3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?

Unfortunately I have already interviewed my mentor twice, so I will need to create some contacts to find another perspective interviewee.

Blog 1 – Senior Final Lesson/Interview Reflection

1.  What three lessons were most helpful for you to see, and why?

• Automotive Maintenance: This is a topic I was particularly interested in and watching it helped me see how feasible such a topic would be as a senior presentation. The presenter also showed confidence and knowledge in the topic, also giving a good hook on the audience.
• Editorial Publishing: This presentation showed how to have a very professional style and layout, in addition to good aesthetic. This presentation also had a fun yet well-structured activity that was a new experience and the presenter rewarded the winners.
• GPS Tracking: While I wasn't so enthusiastic to view this presentation, the amount of knowledge and persuasion was able to swing me around and become intrigued and more involved with the presentation.

2. List one thing that you learned about the senior project in interviews that will help you get off to a good start?

The most helpful thing I learned during senior presentations was to draw your audience in with a strong yet interactive hook/activity. 

3. What topic(s) are you considering, and why?

• Automotive Repair: I viewed a similar topic during this year's senior presentations, and as the presenter went through it, it made want to do the topic more and more. I was already considering the topic as its one of my biggest interests, but I saw how fun and rewarding such a topic would be.
• Computer Engineering/PC Building: While I wasn't able to attend a presentation of this topic, computers are also a big part of my hobbies and I tend to build or help people build computers. This topic would be great because while I known a lot about computers, I still have so much more to learn and I can get really intricate with the details. Computer engineering or similar would also be my likely career path.

4. What EQ do you think might be interesting to consider in guiding a project like this? 

AR: What are the most important fields of knowledge and skills needed to be a good, well-trusted mechanic?

CE: What are important qualities and methods to becoming a great computer engineer on the job?

5. What are some ideas you have about finding summer mentorship?

So far my only idea is making communication, I plan on contacting different specialist repair shops as well as custom PC buiders. A less likely mentorship would be through an actual computer engineer, that would be significantly more difficult to find as their schedules are work-heavy and are usually not working in Southern California.